Building unit



Y .May 11, 1943. HQsPAuLDlNG l2,319,166

BUILDING .UNIT

Filed July .5, i940 Patented May 11, 1943 kOFFICE BUILDING UNIT l f Wellington H. Spaulding, West Hempstead,

Long Island, N. Y. l

Application July 1940, Serial. No. 344,141

12 claims.

This invention relates to pre-formed building unitsvfor the construction of walls, buildings, or other structures,`where such units are laid in a bonding material. `Said units may be formed of any material suitable for the purpose, in any size or shape suitable to the material selected. -f

. The general object of the invention is to provide a wall construction capable of resisting the penetration of moisture. Consequently the invention is especially adapted for 'use in exterior4 walls or surfaces exposed to the weather.

In my copending application, Ser. No. 266,880, filed April 8, 1939, issued August 13, 1940, as U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,211,521, whereof .this application is a continuation-in-part (Ser. No, 266,880 is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 230,333, filed September 16, 1938), I- disclosed inventions having the same general object.

As explainedl in said applications, a major disadvantage in wallsconstructed of conventional building units, such as walls formed with regulation brick or block and mortar, is that water or moisture isfrequently able to enter through the vertical and horizontal joints between units. This is due principally to the poor bond'or adhesion of the bonding material in the said jointsl or to shrinkagecausing full depth unobstructed cracks 'in the joints, or to improperly filled joints due to the plain ilat surfaces of ordinary bricks or blocks. The resultant penetration of moisture is increased by Wind pressure.

In my aforesaid applications, I disclosed means for .preventing this, ccnsisting'ofv building units formed with certain barriers, recesses, and dams,

adapted to resist the passage of water and ensure.v

a better bond of the bonding material in the joints. Certain of said features are employed in new and improved combinations with new features in my present invention'.

A particular improvement of my present invention is the provision of one or more continuous i'barriers or projections on the sides, top and bottom of the building unit, so that when the units are laid in` a wall construction,- the vbarriers or projections create a continuous projection extending completely around the unit, projecting into the bonding material surrounding the unit. Such barriers are preferably located in corresponding vertical planes on all'unit's, so that when laid in a `wall construction, they will register with those on adjacent units. vThese continuous barriers or projections serve many unique and important purposes in this invention. The deformed faces created by the continuous barriers or projections increase and improve the bonding areayby forming tortuous surfaces between the unit and the bonding material. These continuous barriers or projections on the bonding surfaces of the unit tendto retain and cause a more uniform distribution of the bonding material within the jointing areas. In construction, they also create movement of the bonding material on the surface of theunit by compacting and displacement, thereby improving -the adhesion of the bonding material to the unit. Also by confinement the bonding material is forced into every minute part. By this movement and compacting the adhesion of the bonding material is improved throughout the bonding area. Due to this displacement and the' compacting'action caused by the barriers or projections,` the bondingqnaterial is materially reduced in thickness at each ibarrier or projection and the shrinkage y*of the bonding material is reduced in a like proportion, and since the essential portion of the mortar joints is isolated from' atmospheric action, the shrinkage of the bonding material is reduced to a minimum.. As these barriers or projections are ycontinuous around each unit all of the aforesaid advantanges are provided continuously around the jointing area of each unit, thereby creating a continuous improved mortar joint surroundingeach unit that will resist the penetration of moisture.

A further advantage of my improved unit is that it isreversible, since the features on the top and bottom are identicaLthereby providing two faces, either face being available 'for the exposed or i'lnished surface, as with the commonv using common or ordinary units. Building units 't di this invention when used in a wall `lor str'ucture permit the usual or customary mechanical methods to be followed both in construction and i Whenever the 1 to refer to all units of parallelepiped outline, irrespective of their specific dimensions, shape or form, material of which made, etc. For convenience the invention has been illustrated as applied to a building unit of the general dimen` sions of an ordinary brick, but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to such bricks, and that the term building unit as used `herein refers to all units to which the invention may` be applied, irrespective of materials and dimensions.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a unit embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of units in the relative end-to-end position they would occupy in a Wall construction, showing the vertical joints;

Figs. 4 and 5 are an elevation and section in plan, respectively, of a dam adapted to be placed in said vertical joints;

Fig. 6 is a transverse section through two units showing their relative positions in a wall structure;

Fig. 'l is a top plan view showing the invention embodied in a corner unit in a wall construction;

and

Fig. 8 is a top plan View showing the invention embodied in a full header unit in a wall construction.

In Figs. 3, 6, 7 and 8, illustration of mortar or other bonding material has been omitted.

The unit illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 6 employs two continuous barriers or projections I and II, preferably centrally disposed on the unit and extending longitudinally on the top and bottom surfaces and vertically at the ends in a plane approximately parallel with the front and rear faces.

In Fig. 7, continuous barriers IIla and IIa are adapted to a corner unit. In Fig, 8 four continuous barriers I0b, IIb, I 0c and IIc are shown on a full header unit. In all instances, more or fewer barriers may be employed, although the numbers thereof illustrated are at present preferred. Other locations of the barriers may also be employed so long as the object is fulfilled of providing a continuous barrier or barriers in the vertical and horizontal joints of .units in a wall construction.

Between each pair of said continuous barriers on the top and bottom surfaces is located a V- shaped barrier I2 (top) and I3 (bottom). A modified V-shaped top barrier I2a is shown for the corner unit in Fig. '7, and I2b, I2C in Fig. 8. The purpose and functions of these barriers is described in my Ser. No. 266,880.

The registry of the foregoing barriers on units in a Wall construction is illustrated in Figs. 3. 6. 7, and 8.

Between each pair of said continuous barriers on the vertical faces of the units are located semicircular channels or grooves I4. In a wall construction these form a circular cavity best shown in Fig. 3, in which is located a dam I5, preferably tapered as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The purpose and function of channels and dams of this type*v are described in my Ser. No. 266,880.

From the claims which follow, it will be understood that theabove-described features or elements may be employed in various combinations without departing from the scope of the invention. end face" or end faces of a unit or units are referred to, the terms will be understood to mean those portions of a unit adapted to form vertical joints with adjacent units, thereby rendering the claims applicable to embodiments required for corners and headers, such as shown vin Figs. 7 and 8, as well as to the unit shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 6.

What is claimed is:

1. A wall construction including in combination, a plurality of building units laid in a bonding material, each of said units having one or more pairs of spaced continuous barriers or projections extending over the horizontal and end faces of said units dening joints with opposite faces of adjacent units, channels or grooves each located between the barriers or projections constituting a pair, and positioned `opposite each other, and dams locatedin the spaces formed by said opposed channels and embedded in the bonding material interposed between said end faces.

2. A building unit having a pair of continuous spaced barriers or projections on the top, bottom and end faces defining joints with adjacent units and adapted to be surrounded withv a bonding material when laid in a Wall construction, said continuous spaced barriers being located a distance from the forward and rearward faces of the unit, and having a V-shaped projection or barrier extending on the top and bottom faces, located between said pair of continuous spaced barriers, and having a channel or groove located between the said pair of continuous spaced barriers on the end faces of the unit.

3. A wall construction including in combination a plurality of building units laid in a bondv ing material, each of said units having a pair In said claims where the end," ends v of continuous spaced barriers or projections on the top, bottom and end faces defining joints with adjacent units, said continuous spaced barriers being located a distance from the forward and rearward sides of the unit, and having a V-shaped projection or barrier extending on the top and bottom faces located between said pair of continuous spaced barriers, and having a 'channel or groove located between the said pair of COntinuous spaced barriers on the end faces of the unit, and dams located in the spaces formed by the opposing channels and barriers and embedded in said bonding material interposed between said end faces.

4. A wall construction resistant to the passage of moisture, including, in combination, a plurality of building units laid in a bonding material, each of said units having one or more continuous barriers or projections extending over the top, bottom, and end faces thereof where joints are dened with the faces of adjacent units, the barriers on adjacent units being in register and separated by bonding material filling the joints, said barriers thereby providing a continuous interval around each unit where vthe thickness of the bonding material is substantially reduced.

5. A wall construction resistant to the passage of moisture, including, in combination, a plurality units and embedded in the 8. A wall construction according to claim 5, wherein end faces of each unit have a channel or groove between the barriers or projections thereon, and dams located in the space formed by said grooves in the vertical joints defined by adjacent bonding material therein.

7. A wall construction resistant to the passage of moisture, including, in combination, a plurality of building units laid in a bonding material, each of said units having one or more continuous barriers extending, over the top, bottom, and end faces thereof where joints are dened with faces of adjacent units, and bonding material separating s aid faces, said barriers projecting from said faces a distance less than one-half the thickness of said bonding material.

8. A wall construction according to claim 7,

' wherein the barriers on the faces defining joints with adjacent units are in register.

9. A wall construction according to claim 7,

wherein the end faces of units defining joints are provided with vertical registering grooves, and

dams embedded in bonding material in said grooves.

10. A building unit having one or more pairs of spaced continuous barriers or projections extending over its top, bottom and ends, and channels or grooves each located in one or more end faces of the unit between thebarriers or projections tion; said unit having additional barriers or projections located between the continuous barriers or projections constituting a pair on the top and bottom faces of the unit respectively.

11. A wall construction including in combination, a plurality of building units laid in a bonding material, each of said units having one or more continuous barriers or projections, each of said barriers or projections extending over the faces of said units and surrounded with said bonding material where joints are dened with the faces of adjacent units: said units having channels or grooves in adjacent end faces of adjacent units and positioned opposite each other, and dams located in the spaces formed by said opposed channels and embedded in the bonding material interposed between said end faces.

12.`A building unit having one or more pairs ofspaced continuous barriers or projections extending over itstop, bottom and ends, and chan- Y nels or grooves each located in one or more end constituting a pair, said barriers or projections n being adapted to be surrounded with bonding material when the unitis laid in a wall construcfaces of the unit between the barriers or projectionsconstituting a pair, said barriers or projections being adapted to be ksurrounded with bonding material when the unit is laid in a wall construction; said unit having additional projections or barriers on the top and bottom horizontal faces extending between and parallel to the spaced continuous barriers or projections constituting a pair, said pairs of continuous barriers located a distance from the forward and rearward faces of the unit.

' WELLINGTON H. SPAULDING. 

